Every town and city needs to develop a resilience plan or strategy - Kumar

Every town and city needs to develop a resilience plan or strategy and Municipal Councils must go beyond the scope of their responsibilities and collaborate with members of the private sector and civil society if they are to genuinely transform cities and towns.

This has been highlighted by the Minister for Local Government, Premila Kumar during the 75th Anniversary Celebrations of Nadi Township.

She says the theme of the 75th Anniversary Celebrations, “For a Resilient Nadi, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” defines how Nadi and the rest of Fiji have dealt with challenging situations.

Kumar says how we have learnt from our past to build a robust today that will lead to a resilient tomorrow and the lessons from the past will ensure that the practices of the past are never repeated.

The Minister says the Fijian Government established the Fijian COVID Safe Framework and made sure that crucial industries continued to operate while the rest of the world was still attempting to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and had closed their borders.

She says this indicated that individuals were employed while the Fijian Government contributed over $500 million in employment support.

Kumar says although such phenomena occur once every century, climate change remains our biggest threat to the development of our small island nation and with the increasingly intense tropical cyclones and sea level rise, the real-world economic, social, and environmental consequences of climate change are more acutely felt than ever before.

She says Nadi certainly has not been spared from these challenges, particularly flooding, which has tested the resilience of the people of Nadi.

The Minister further says all Fijians, including those in Nadi, have in the past displayed incredible resiliency in the face of adversity and natural disasters where in 2012, Nadi took the brunt of the worst floods and the effects of tropical cyclone Winston.

She says Nadi citizens recovered, though, and used the lessons learned from these tragic events to forge a more resilient Nadi Community.

Kumar also says we have learned from these events so we can be better prepared for the inevitable future natural disasters that climate change will bring.

She says to mitigate the impact of future flooding, the Fijian Government has undertaken interventions such as dredging the riverbed, widening rivers, improving drainage, and implementing non-structural measures, which is through the engagement of the community and the Nadi Flood Alleviation Project is a top priority for the Fijian Government in terms of major infrastructure development.

Kumar says the purpose of this project is to reduce future harm that floods in Nadi town's commercial district and on its flood plain will cause to the Fijian economy and the lives of its citizens.

She says the story of resilience is really one of cooperation; it involves all tiers of Government, business, and civil society cooperating for a single goal: lowering the risk of catastrophic events while simultaneously enhancing residents' daily lives.

She adds despite its challenges, she am certain that Nadi has a bright, resilient future.

Kumar has also urged Nadi Town Council to give residents a more eco-friendly, secure, and hospitable environment where businesses can be conducted much more effectively.